Lagoon Day

 Lagoon Day 2013 was our best Lagoon Day yet.  Perfect weather, everyone was there, the lines were short, the food was plentiful and...wait for it...all of our kids suddenly got brave!  Freestone had bee fretting about Lagoon Day, saying he hated it because Dad always tried to make him go on scary rides.  I think he was over-dramatizing the situation just a little, but he is like Golda; they don't like big rides.  Or should I say, they didn't like big rides, until yesterday!  Golda had been on all the big rides and decided they weren't for her.  But something came over Freestone and he just started going on roller coasters.  He went on everything, and I guess Golda decided, "What the heck."  And Xanthe was tall enough to try every ride, which she did.  Gee, I guess I only have two little kids left!  The rest are big now!  It used to be that Scott took all the big kids, which was, let's see, Ruby and Ari.  And I took all the little kids, which included Golda, Freestone, Xanthe, Ptolemy and Tziporah.  Now, Scott has all the kids except the babies. 

 So you'd think I would be able to keep track of them.  Nope.  Golda and I were sitting on a bench in kiddieland and I said, "So, where's Ptolemy?"  She said, "I don't know.  I thought you had him."  Panic.  We found him riding the whales.  Nobody could remember how long he had been on the ride, but both the teenager operating it and Ptolemy were relieved to see us.  (I only lost him one other time, when Ruby took him to the bathroom and we almost called Search and Rescue.  Oh, and when he went on the merry-go-round with Grandma while I wasn't paying attention.)  I also lost Xanthe, but just for a few minutes while she was on a ride.  She didn't know I had lost track of her, but I spent the whole ride waving to a four-year-old Latino boy with a crew cut.  It was only after the kids got off the ride that I realized this little guy wasn't Xanthe.  I need glasses.

Tziporah and Jersey look miserable on the whale ride, but it's not what you think.  Tziporah wasn't scared, she was mad about the seat belt.  She wanted to stand up and ride the whales.  I explained that to the ride attendant and he patiently explained to me why that wouldn't be safe.  Duh!  Lighten up, kid.  I'm joking!  It's not like you're in charge of the red button that can start a nuclear war.  It's the whale ride.

Then again, I can't be too hard on the kid, since he let Ptolemy stay on the ride until someone found him.

 Again, the seat belt is a problem.  I'm with Tizzy on this one.  The boats would be much more fun if you were standing on the prow, arms outstretched, wind in your hair.  Only if it was really windy, though, because the boats move verrrry slowly.

 Ice cream!  Here's the trick:  Don't get single scoops for everyone.  Get double scoops to share.  Ask for them "in a cup with a cone on top."  Then, while they're being scooped, say to the girl scooping, "Oh no!  One of the kids asked for mint chocolate chip and I forgot to order it!  Can you put some in there?"  And that's the secret to big scoops.  Or you could employ Jennie's trick of complimenting your scooper-girl on being the best scooper in the place.  The scoops only get bigger from there!

 Check out the look of glee on Tizzy's face when she gets her own gun.  The NRA would be proud.  I cringe.  At one point, Ptolemy actually kissed his machine gun.  I'm scared.  I really am.

 It looks like Ptolemy had a great time, probably never realized he was lost for most of the day. Also, he seems to have recovered from being used as a human shield by Scott on Rattlesnake Rapids.  Scott stayed dry, Tolly was drenched.

 Yes, a security officer escorted us out.  And no, we would not have left had he not followed us all the way to the exit.

 Our two champions!

On the way home from Lagoon, I joked and said, "Who wants to go to Cherry Hill now?"  I was answered with a chorus of "Meeeeee!"  Scott said, "You probably would."  And I said, "I probably will, just because I can."  Ari, Free and Tolly threw suits on and we ran to the water park at Cherry Hill.  alas, it was closed early because it was a school night.  It was 7:55 and the Oakridge pool closes at 8.  The kids didn't want to go home dry.  They wanted to go home wet and trick Dad into thinking they had gone on the waterslides.  We sped over to Oakridge, arriving at 7:59.  I instructed the kids, "Just go in.  Don't flinch.  Don't hesitate.  The lifeguards will smell weakness.  Just jump in the pool, no explanations.  I'll take care of that."

I held open the gate, greeted by 5 surprised lifeguards, as three kids, one if a floatie suit, filed past them and jumped into the pool.  I explained, "It's a bet.  We can't go home dry or we lose the bet.  Thanks for helping out!  See you tomorrow!"  With that, the kids filed back into the car and we drove off before the young lifeguards could so much as blow a whistle.

At home, I found out something about Freestone.  He is a terrible liar.  Scott asked him about Cherry Hill and he froze.  the whole story we concocted in the car, with all the details about how many times we went on each slide, was gone.  The truth came out.  Well, that's good, I suppose.

So, summer has officially begun.  Except we have two more weeks of school left.  Can I get a groan?  Thank you.